An EA82, a wallet, and a mission

[Woob]

hey all,
Ive got an EA82T in an '86 RX, bought the car last january (for $3600 with poor engine condition, as i was a fool), then spent money on new suspension, new radiator, and a few other bits and pieces.. a month later the car was yellow stickered and hasnt seen the road since.

now i finally have money to repair it(sold all of the audio in my MY )

what i KNOW is wrong with it..

Cam gasket needs replacing, so timing belt needs to go as well
Stock turbo is highflowed, and i believe it to be screwed and needs to be replaced
Front right wheel bearing needs replacing
Steering wheel bush needs replacing
Need new tint
need rear left, rear right, and front passenger seat belts, and rear center seat belt clip
Need a new left side window squirter :P
The engine makes mega tapping noises
Gearbox crunches 2nd and 3rd badly
Rear diff needs to be re-centered or something since we did the suspension
Need new tyres

now the mission is.. ive got about $1500 to play with atm.. if need be i can scrape up to $2500 but i'd prefer not to.. also ive got a very small clue when it comes to really telling whats wrong with the car, im only going off what ive been told, and what the pits info says to repair.

Now as long as i can get the engine running sweet with the money i have, ill be able to get the rest done like tint and seatbelts, with the money i get from selling the MY.

What would be my best bet with the money ive got? Get the timing belt done, find a new turbo and get that put on, and get the wheel bearing done, and maybe get the lifters cleaned..

or find a new EA82 and get it swapped over?

oh, it also needs a new dizzy.. was going to find a 2wd dizzy anyway so that works out well.

the gearbox isnt desperate, i can pass the pits with the turbo as is, rear diff isnt urgent, and and the lifters arent urgent either..

i know it sounds like a lot but i fell in love with this car when i got it, and even with the engine in shocking condition, no intercooler, and big holes in the radiator, it was pulling 13.9s on 16psi, so i know its a capable car!

if anyone in WA would be willing to come have a look see and try and help me diagnose whats wrong with the poor thing i would be hugely grateful, plz help me out my dream back together!

regards,
Damon

[tim_81coupe]

This isn't the white one that used to be owned by a fellow called Alex is it? I went and looked at it just over a year ago, nearly bought it too. I did take it for a test drive also .

My suggestion as always is to go EJ. Even with the super-low priced you-beaut $1500 EJ20G that OS is selling at the moment you'd be hard put to get it in for $2500. So, I suppose its a debateable point. $2500 won't get you a reconditioned EA82, second hand gearbox and all the extra bits either.

I'd be keen to come take a look some time soon, I do have a lot of Subaru stuff on my plate at the moment though (that blue one in my sig isn't driving yet, come to think of it neither is the red one ). Always good to meet a new member and always good to have a gander at another ride.

I think I can help you with the wheel bearing - I think I have a couple of new ones lying about...

[AndrewT]

Hey dude,

This won't be the exact solution you are after but it would certainly get your car up and running and fit to pass the yellow sticker inspection in record time...

I've got a 100% A1 condition MPFI EA82 non-turbo engine sitting here which I just pulled out of my L series litterally a few days ago. Most of the WA guys should be able to vouch for it being a decent motor - quiet as, not even a hint of lifter tick.

Would get you up and running and leave you free to rebuild or fixup the EA82turbo without as much ugency - allow more time to do it properly etc.

From what I understand it will just plug straight into your existing wiring harness and even work with your ECU (I've got the matching ECU sitting with the motor aswell anyway). The swap could quiet easily be knocked out in less than a day.

Lemme know what you rekon anyways!

PS - I also have a very good 5spd Dual range gearbox surplus.
a.

[Woob]

hey tim, yea it is the one from alex i was guessing that at least one of you blokes would have test drove it, as he was saying a few soob enthusiasts had a test drive, one who had a Leone with an EJ20 conversion..

against the word of the bloke at automasters i bought it because the interior was awesomely nice, and in great condition.. and the thing goes like a rocket.. now those reasons came back to bite me on the ass :P

also andrew, i'd be very keen to go for your EA82.. i just want my RX back.. im happy to drive without the extra power while i save for something better later down the track.. also i'd be very keen on the gearbox if it doesnt crunch any gears.

my problem is that i would either need a mechanic to do the swap for me, or i would need someone to pretty much hold my hand for a day while we do the swap.

but this sounds like my best bet atm.

how much would you be after for both the engine and box?

msn is [email protected] for whoever wants it

[AndrewT]

I could help with the fitting of the engine. I'm not 100% sure if the wiring is a straight plug in and work or not....but there are plenty of people of here who could confirm this.

[Woob]

if you would be willing that would be awesome maybe some time you, me and tim could get together and tear the ole RX apart

sorry to ask again, but how much do you think you would be looking at for the engine and box? just trying to sort out my finances.

ill be going to subaru some time this week and ordering a new steering bush, wheel bearing, and seatbelts.. unless someone can get them cheaper than i could from subaru of course

Cheers,
Damon

[tim_81coupe]

I'd be more than keen to. This sounds like an excellent solution, I remember the car well (I think I've even still got the video of it dragging an HQ Monaro down the strip!) and I reckon it deserves EJ treatment. That was the verdict when I test drove it, unfortunately I was after an offroader at the time so I passed.

[Woob]

well this was wrapped up quickly in 1 night

seems like a new engine and gearbox for the RX, and hopefully bolting onto the turbo manifold from the existing engine.. and maybe a top mount if i score it off HoppyJake.

thanks heaps already to those who are helping me solve the problem, and if anyone else is keen to come out for a day and put an engine in a car, i'd love to meet some more of the AU Subaru blokes, could make it a sort of meet

ta,
Damon

[AndrewT]

I'm fairly certain the EA82 turbo manifold won't go onto the non turbo heads, aparently theres some pretty fundamental difference in the heads. But I could be wrong on this....

[BlackMale]

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT DO NOT LET EM DO IT TO YA!!!

I have the only other ea82T in this crew and to go backwards is SERIOUSLY a mistake... although IF you do i would be interested in what you are going to do with the old engine.

For the $ you have you she be able to get it going again... how would i know... just spent $1600 8O on mine (OUCH!!!)

Give me a call (IF you want to)

[Woob]

hehe, i would love to get it fixed, but i explained to Tim what happened to it, there was some hardcore damage done to the engine by someone else.. really beyond repairs atm..

when i pull it out ill most likely put it in the shed and use it for parts/use it as a tool for learning

[Woob]

also can anyone confirm that the turbo manifold is not usable with the NA EA82 engine?

if so, whats the chances of being able to reuse the heads off my EA82T if they arent in too bad a condition?

ta

[BlackMale]

its been a while and i did not use mine (i had both cars) but i think that you will require an NA 1.

Oh you have a PM as well.

[Woob]

just tracked down wheel bearings $14 per bearing, or $37 per kit that includes 2 bearings and 2 seals, im about to go pick up 2 kits to have em ready for the engine swap

[Woob]

wee got the bearing kits, they are NSK which is 'apparently' a really good brand.. when i got to the store the guy realised that he gave me the price that he got them for, but he gave em to me at that price anyway

had no luck on my steering bush.. subaru had nfi and the bloke from the bearing place needs to see the bearing and bush to be able to see what i need and what model it is

will hopefully be picking up the engine this weekend, and fitting it asap after that

[tim_81coupe]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the MPFI heads dual port intake just like the turbo? I can see why the carby motors can't go turbo (easily) but I was sure the MPFI ones looked more doable.

[PeeJay]

Wouldn't turbo heads = less compression? I can't see that as being a good thing!

[Woob]

yeah so with higher compression, comes lower boost.. i was boosting up to 18psi on the stock turbo heads.. i figure 6-8psi on the MPFI heads should be fine..

were the turbo engine MPFI? ive got a feel that when the old owner got a new engine put in a few years ago they used an NA MPFI engine..

the engine has a single point injector on the throttle body cover, and multi point on the cylinders, its a funky setup and ive got nfi how its mapped through the ecu.. weird indeed

but yeah ive got a strong feel that it was an NA engine that was put in using the turbo and manifold, so with luck we should be right

[mattl200]

single ingector on manafold sounds like a cold start injector

if ea82 had these?
have seen on other cars (non subaru)

[SuBaRiNo]

Whats going on??? We doing some "Save the subi meet" When?? Where??

Dave